Apparatus for emptying superphosphate reaction-chambers.



H. W. HALL.

APPARATUS FOR EMPTYING SUPERPHOSPHATE REACTION CHAMBERS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6. I9I5. 1,232,295. Patented Ju 1917.

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APPARATUS FOB EMPTYING SUPERPHOSPHATE REACTION CHAMBERS.

APPLICATION FILED FEILB, 1915.

Patented July 3,1917.

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HERBERT WILLIAM HALL, OF ZURICH, SWITZERLAND.

A..'l?PAlEtATU'SV FOR EMPTYING SUPERPI-IOSPHATE REACTION-CHAMBERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1917.

` Application filed February 6, 1915. Serial No. 6,569.

To all whom t may concern: f

Be it known that I, 'HERBERT VVILLI'AM HALL, engineer, a citizen of the`Republic of Switzerland, residing at Zurich, in the Canton of Zurich,Republic of Switzerland, have invented a new and useful Apparatus forEmptying Superphosphate Reaction- Chambers, of which the following is aspecificaton.

My invention relatesto ,improvements in apparatus foremptyingsuperphosphate reaction chambers by means of a transportable,rotating scraping machine, runningk'on rails and comprising a trolleycarrying an electric motor for driving the cutters only, while theadvance is not effected by motor power, but by gravity. The principalobject of the invention is the possibility of emptying reaction chambersof rectangular or cylindrical form, the former being of almost generaluse at the present time, without costly alterations to an existingplant, and the possibility of using a transportable, rotary `machine of'very simple design. Transportable machines provided with a change ofdirection for forward self-movement into the chamber and backwardselfmovement out of same, necessitate the use of complicated automaticreversing apparatus. It is generally known, that such" transportablemachines require constant repair, as their iron parts become corroded ina `very short time, the finer parts of the electricalapparatus beingsoon ruined by the `vapors of sulfuric acid and the high temperature inthe chamber. In the abovementioned simple machine the electric motor andthe speed reducing gear can be completely covered and easily protectedagainst the injurious vapors of sulfuric acid.

To allow the chamber to be emptied by such a simple machine, I make useof a tilting track for the same, to be erected in the chamber. An easyworking of the machine will notbe obtainable, if the scraped material is-allowed to reach the surfaces of the rails, and grease the same, andadhere to the wheels. The wheels then being no longer truly round andbeing pasted with more or less thick layers of superphosphate, cause themachine to advance irregularly, in consequence of which the scrapedmaterial will vary in thickness. It may also happen, that the machinerunning obliquely on the track and sticking between lthe rails, isbrought to a standstill, It will therefore be necessary to dispose therunning surfaces for the wheels in such a way, that they are out ofreach of the scraped material. The tilting track has besides the greatadvantage, that the angle of inclination can be determined in conformitywith the dryness of the superphosphate in the chamber, so that thethickness of the scraped material can be varied at will.

The accompanying drawing represents a tilting track arrangement in areaction chamber, in accordance with the present invention. Figure lshows a longitudinal'section and Fig. 2 a cross section through one halfof a double chamber of the ordinary rectangular form.

Fig. 3 is a face view of the rotary scraper.

Fig. 4 is mainly a sectional View illustrating the motor and the gearingoperatively connecting it with the scraper'.

The brick chamber a is charged by the disintegrating vessel. b on themiddle wall, c is a door, through which the scraping machine can enterinto the chamber, the scraped material falls through slits Z at thebottom. e is the tilting track, substantially consisting of two channelirons and 'end brackets, the upper parts of the lower flanges of thechannel irons being the `'running surfaces, are thus disposed out ofreach of the scraped material; the track is prolonged outside the doorto allow the machine to be shunted on. f is an inlet for fresh air, tobe opened when the chamber is being emptied. g is a liue connected withthe interior of the chamber and serving to conduct the gases to achimney. 7L, /L are two tilting-bearings, common to various tiltingcontrivances. Half of the bearing bolt is embraced by the upper part ofthe body, which is bolted to the track e, the other half by the lowerpart, which is bolted to the foundation wall t'. Dotted lines 7c, Fig.2, represent the scraping machine, which may be variously constructed,but is preferably provided with a series of rotary cutters operated byan electric motor as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Before the chamber isfilled, the track c is tilted upward in direction of A, pastedk at thesides with greasy superphosphate against the liked boards Z and itsupper surface covered with movable boards fm., the latter similar tothose, which served for covering the bottom slits Z of the chamber,before the track was put in.

As is well known, the chambers are not filled more than 5 to G ft. high,when they phosphate, when the block is undercut.

l/Vhen my tilting track is used in combinan tion with the scrapingmachine, nothing prevents the chamber to be illed almost upto the airinlet The volume of the mass cut out by the scraping machine, will inmost cases be near the contents of the chamber, when filled only 5 to 6it. high.

lVhen the superphosphate is sufficiently dried in the chamber,the door cis opened, the track e tilted down to its level position, the movableboards m, which get loosened from the block atthe same time as thetrack, are taken out, the machine shunted on Athe part of the trackprojecting outside the door and the motor driving the cutters, put inaction. In accordance with the `dryness of the superphosphate, the trackis then tilted upward just .so much as to allow the machine to run downthe inclined track by the action of the component of its own weight andto cut the material-in the desired thickness. During its forwardmovement the machine will cut out of the block a cylinder having aninclined axis B parallel with the running surface of the 4track and openonthe top and at the bottom, while the scraped material falls throughthe bottom slits cl on a mechanical conveyer n. The remaining parts oand `p of the superphosphate are not tak-en out but llett permanently inplace. The ypart g atithe back wall ilikewise remains in the chamber,and the machine, after having 'performed itswork, is pulled out of thechamber by hand, in backward direction. Y

The tilting track as above described, is likewise applicable to ahorizontal reaction chamber of cylindrical form 11. e. of circularsection, when the chamber is provided with slits at the bottom to allowthe scraped material to fall down on mechanical conveyers. For a sectionof a given inside diameter it will only be necessary, on account of theinclined axis of the cylinder cut out by the machine, to have the`diameter of this cylinder correspondingly smaller.

I claim:

An apparatus for emptying superphosphate reaction chambers, comprising areceptacle for the superphosphate, said receptacle having an 4openingextending longitudinally through its lower wall, a track pivoted at itsinner endand adapted to have a tilting movement in a vertical plane insaid opening, means supported'by said track for closing the opening andfor protecting the track from the superphosphate, and a scraping machineadapted to travel on said track, the track being adapted to be loweredto permit the removal of the covering means and to allow the scrapingmachine to be shunted thereon and then liftedto cause the machine tofeed by gravity asthe grinder operates.

Dated this 15th day of January, 1915.

HERBERT WILLI AM HALL.

litnesses BERTHA C.y Gro, CARL GUBLER.

Copies of thiskpatent may Abeobtained for ivrevcents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

